Three days later, in the northern Land of Wind.
A desolate stretch of wasteland.
The terrain here was completely different from the southern desert.
There were no rolling dunes.
Only an endless plain of broken stone.
A massive convoy crawled forward across this barren land.
More than two hundred wagons formed a winding, serpent-like line.
Each wagon's tracks carved deep grooves into the ground, only to be half-buried by blowing grit a moment later.
Compared to when they'd left the daimyo's palace three days ago…
There was a murderous edge to this Sunagakure force now.
Sweat and sand caked the cloth beneath their forehead protectors.
Many of them had fresh wounds.
Bandages peeked from sleeves and collars, some stained with dark, dried blood.
The air reeked of iron.
And in every pair of eyes there was a faint, bloodthirsty excitement.
In the middle of the convoy, on the largest command wagon…
Teizawa sat cross-legged inside the semi-open carriage.
Beneath him lay an exquisite carpet taken from the daimyo's palace.
In front of him sat a low table with a tea set.
A white porcelain teapot. Two thin, delicate cups.
Steam curled from the spout.
Out here in the dust-choked wasteland, this little tea setup looked wildly out of place.
And somehow, it made the scene even more jarring.
Swish, swish…
He had just lifted his cup when the sound of clothes slicing the air came from outside.
Kankurō landed lightly on the wagon with a small hop, lifted the curtain, and entered.
The young puppet master was coated in windblown dust, his forehead protector crooked.
There were splatters of dark brown grime on his deep-purple outfit.
And on the back of his right hand, a scratch had already scabbed over.
"Kazekage-sama."
Kankurō dropped to one knee, voice rough.
When it came to business, he didn't dare slack off.
And he certainly didn't dare joke around like he had the other day.
Teizawa didn't look up. He brought the cup to his lips, blew gently across the surface.
"Speak."
"We just repelled the fourth attack."
As he reported, Kankurō unconsciously rubbed the wound on his hand. "From the southeast. They tried to cut in from the flank toward the middle of the convoy. We wiped them out completely."
The tea was warm as it slid down Teizawa's throat.
Only then did he set the cup down, slow and unhurried.
"How many this time?"
"Eighty-five." Kankurō paused. "More than the first three. Better equipment too. They were organized. Not ordinary drifters."
"How did you handle it?"
"Following your orders." Kankurō's voice sank lower. "We killed them all. No survivors. No surrenders accepted."
"And the bodies were handled the same way as before…"
His throat bobbed as he said it.
Even after carrying out the same command four times…
Every time he spoke those words out loud…
He still felt a little unreal.
In all his years as a shinobi, he hadn't killed this many people total, not even close. Not until these past three days.
Forcing down the discomfort, Kankurō clenched his jaw and asked, "And… and why are you leaving so many bodies behind? Don't tell me you're trying to…"
A thought seemed to occur to him, and he trailed off.
Human puppets were taboo in Sunagakure.
Teizawa finally lifted his gaze.
His eyes settled on Kankurō's face.
"Don't ask. Just do what I said."
"And the bodies we brought out from the daimyo's palace, keep them hidden too. I have a use for them."
"U-understood!"
All Kankurō could do was force a bitter smile and agree.
Ever since they'd left the daimyo's palace territory…
The attacks were inevitable.
Every time, it was a small force of a few dozen.
Against a Sunagakure shinobi army of over a thousand, it wasn't a real threat.
If anything, it felt more like probing.
And as for these ragtag bands of wandering shinobi and samurai…
Teizawa couldn't even be bothered to interrogate them.
Execute them all, leave the bodies.
He'd even dressed it up as "contributing to cleansing the Land of Wind."
Teizawa's gaze swept over Kankurō's face.
Numb now, but growing colder by the day.
The corner of Teizawa's mouth lifted slightly.
"Not bad. You've finally made some progress."
Kankurō let out a stiff, bitter laugh. "After killing that many people, how could I not?"
"Think it's cruel?" Teizawa asked suddenly, refilling his cup.
Kankurō went silent for a moment, then answered honestly.
"A… little."
"Then what do you think they attacked for? To say hello?"
Teizawa gave a soft chuckle. "Twenty-three billion ryō is enough to turn anyone into a beast."
"They came to kill us and take it. If you hold back, they won't hold back for you."
He lifted his cup, eyes drifting to the curtain and the monotonous Gobi landscape beyond it.
"Temari, you, Gaara… Sunagakure's younger generation. Or Konoha's, for that matter. You've all been protected too well."
His tone was calm.
But Kankurō's face burned anyway.
He wanted to argue, but couldn't find the words.
It was true. They'd taken missions.
They'd fought battles.
He'd even been part of something as massive as the Konoha Crush…
But true, large-scale, no-holds-barred slaughter?
They hadn't faced much of it.
"What is a shinobi?" Teizawa's voice yanked him back to reality. "A born combat machine."
"A blade. A sword. A tool for killing."
"And a tool's purpose is to complete the mission efficiently. Protect the village. Escort supplies. Remove threats…"
"And the core of those missions is often killing."
He turned back, staring Kankurō down.
"If you don't sharpen yourself with real slaughter, how do you grow?"
"And don't give me that friendship, love, bonds garbage. It's all bullshit."
"What, you think you're going to pull some protagonist nonsense and talk the enemy into laying down their blade?"
Teizawa's mouth twisted into a mocking curve.
"That's just pure, certified insanity."
Kankurō froze.
Those words went against everything he'd been taught.
Or rather, against the ideals he'd seen in Konoha shinobi…
Colder. More direct.
And more… real.
"Go get some rest." Teizawa waved him off. "The next attack won't be far."
"The smell of money has already spread through the entire Land of Wind. The hyenas that caught a whiff of blood will only keep coming."
Kankurō bowed and turned to leave.
"Oh, and one more thing." As he lifted the curtain, Teizawa added, "Treat that cut on your hand."
"Next time, have your puppets block faster. Dead men don't get to grow."
"Yes!"
The curtain dropped, sealing off the carriage.
Teizawa sat alone before his little tea setup.
Listening to the rumble of wheels outside, the wind, and the occasional low voices of Sand shinobi.
His thoughts gradually deepened.
There was no denying it.
After a few bloody fights, these Sand shinobi had grown a little.
But it wasn't enough.
In Teizawa's eyes…
What Sunagakure's army lacked most was killing intent.
And there was no helping it.
In the last few years…
Or rather, the last decade and change…
Sunagakure hadn't exactly been winning wars.
Inside the village, sure, they acted tough.
One guy more impressive than the next.
Like how the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had coldly set up and eliminated Pakura, the Scorch Release user.
That was ruthless.
But against outsiders?
All Teizawa could say was: pathetic.
The most recent example was the Konoha Crush.
All the buildup, all that swagger…
Then once the fighting actually started and Konoha reacted—
Sunagakure turned into headless flies.
Getting swatted around, scrambling, losing control of everything.
And right after that came the blame-shifting, the apologies, the begging for peace…
"Embarrassing," Teizawa murmured.
He lifted a third cup of tea, but didn't drink it.
He just stared at his reflection in the surface.
He knew what he was doing…
It wasn't only escorting a fortune.
He was waiting for a real war.
A war that would reforged the fighting spirit of Sunagakure's next generation.
Stripping away naivety. Cutting out weakness.
Using blood and death to hammer them into the kind of strength that could push Sunagakure into a true rise.
As for Naruto's talk of love and peace…
Heh.
Hopefully the kid wouldn't wander into Teizawa's line of fire.
"Talk-no-jutsu," Teizawa murmured, draining the cup in one go. "When the time comes, feel free to use it on me as much as you want."
(End of Chapter)
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